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Jesse Sampley (00:00.27)

actually headed back to Utah in March. What do you think weather will be like in March? Will it? No, not Moab. It may be Salt Lake City, actually. We're going for a tax conference. Yay. But yeah. That's when I officially knew. like, I'm a full adult now. Like, I'm excited to go to a Kevin O'Leary-backed tax conference.

Megan Melville (00:03.033)

it's gonna be gorgeous. Are you gonna be down south in Moab?

Megan Melville (00:14.251)

that sounds like good morning.

Megan Melville (00:22.488)

yet.

Megan Melville (00:26.475)

Yep, that's going to be exciting, exciting, exciting stuff. There are some really good restaurants in Salt Lake, so it'll be, there are some really good restaurants. My favorite is called White Horse. Try that one out here, it's really good.

Jesse Sampley (00:28.714)

Yes. It will be. was.

What is it?

good.

Okay. What kind of food?

Megan Melville (00:45.463)

Kind of American, like steaks and yeah. Yeah, it's good.

Jesse Sampley (00:48.254)

lovely, yeah. We actually this van, part of the reason we got this Sprinter like travel van is we're gonna end up, we've got four kids, so we're all, we're gonna take a road trip out to Utah, we're gonna go to this tax conference and then do a bit of an out west trip on the way there and on the way back. Yeah. yeah. Well Megan, why don't...

Megan Melville (00:57.585)

huh.

Megan Melville (01:03.437)

Bye.

Megan Melville (01:09.113)

That will be so fun! I love that.

Jesse Sampley (01:14.892)

Why don't we jump in and you tell me, for the builders that are listening to the show, describe your role and what you do there at the hive. Tell me a little bit about what you do and how you operate and what you do there.

Megan Melville (01:31.403)

Yeah, so I got my start in commercial. I worked at an architectural firm in their interior design department here in Salt Lake City and commercial is a lot different. Everything is tracked, everything is noted, everything is dated and clouded and it's all very official with those large projects it all has to be accounted for and

when I started doing residential design much later in my career, it was kind of like the wild, wild west where it was like, here's a sketch on a napkin and we're going to go get a permit and we're going to build this house. And I'm like, okay, yeah, sure. Let's, let's do this. And so I went from one kind of structure to another that there was just, it felt like there weren't really any systems that one builder.

or several builders would use that I could kind of rely on. And I realized, okay, well, this is going to be kind of up to me to make sure that this communication happens and that this information is given to the contractor so that it gets to all the subcontractors and everybody else in the project. And I think that was one thing that I saw as such a difference between the two and realized that there's really something that can be done here. And it doesn't need to be anything

you know, really formalized with RFIs and all of that stuff because that can kind of bog down, especially a small project, but just to make things more accessible and trackable and some accountability on all sides. Even on the side of the client, like, yeah, you actually signed off on this. This is, this is when you signed off on it. We need to change it. Let's change it. Here's a change order. That's what that looks like. Obviously builders kind of have their own way of doing that, but

I could see that some structure or some sort of system needed to happen to be able to communicate everything that goes into building a home.

Jesse Sampley (03:37.418)

Yeah. What are some of those big problems that you think that solved by having that organization?

Megan Melville (03:41.081)

Okay.

I think a general contractor, like they live and die by their schedule. and so if they're waiting on me to select a tile and you know, they've got trades coming in and out and everything's kind of on hold. It's like, shoot, well we have the tile, but let me get you this tile installation drawing really quickly. And so just to kind of have, and it took some

of trial and error on, know, this is where we should be starting with our selections with the client because these are the things that are going to come up first. And then, you know, lighting fixtures, let's leave that closer to the end. We've got a minute. So even just kind of trying to time things correctly so that if it's a quick timeline, we're still working with within the timeline that the builder has. So scheduling, I think, is important, but then also budget. If

know if I'm suggesting something that's like oh that tile is $50 a square foot and that's just for the tile that's not installed it's like what have you done to the budget like it's just been blown up so trying to help with schedule and budget I think are probably a priority to be able to help the contractor feel confident in me and what I'm you know offering to the client so that it keeps the builder in good standing with the client that's

Jesse Sampley (05:10.536)

Yeah, you and you act as a good buffer to probably between the expectations to.

Megan Melville (05:11.053)

That's the goal.

Megan Melville (05:18.359)

Right.

Jesse Sampley (05:20.298)

Yeah, that's do you like that relationship style to where, you know, the builder is more, you know, focused on the trades and the schedule and you're more handling the client side or do you make that more of a collaborative process? How do you like to see that normally, that relationship?

Megan Melville (05:39.853)

I definitely want it to be collaborative. I want the home to be the star, not the designer. I think a lot of times designers get in there and...

Sometimes we can make a mess of things. We're a creative bunch and like, you know, it's just kind of who we are. And I can say this because I am one, but sometimes we can be kind of a hot mess. And sometimes too, I think designers like to take a lot of credit for everything that happens in a house. And it's like, well, I mean, yeah, you picked the tile, but you install the tile. And so I just totally lost my train of thought. What was the question?

Jesse Sampley (05:56.014)

you

Jesse Sampley (06:20.896)

No, just the relationship, know, the cadence between the builder. Yeah.

Megan Melville (06:22.649)

Yes. The builder is the one who like he's, he's kind of like my project manager too. Like even though I might be independent and I have my own contract with the client, I don't want to start suggesting something that the builder is like, no, like that's just, that's a little bit out of our scope or out of our comfort zone. And so I really try to make sure that

You know, as I'm working with a client, we're always kind of thinking, okay, let's talk to the contractor and see what his thoughts are on doing something like this. let's include the contractor on this conversation. And honestly, if there's an architect, like I want the architect to be involved too. All of the heads are better than just, just one. So I might have some great ideas, but they might be like, well, realistically we're looking at, know, this might be prohibitive for this reason. And I may not be thinking of that. So I think including the builder.

in all of those conversations, knowing that he's the one that's going to be doing the work and his subs are doing the work, I think it's very important to make sure that he is involved and up to speed on what's happening. Otherwise, I think if that communication falls apart, I feel like the relationship between the builder and I kind of falls apart as well. And there's just not the trust there that should be there.

Jesse Sampley (07:46.339)

good to have all the perspectives too, you know, because it's everybody's bringing to the table, you know, how they're seeing things down the timeline a little bit, you know, and how it may affect another trade or how it may affect something else. So it's just it, you know, me being in a creative space, you know, it's always encouraged to like, I mean, the more minds that you can bring together, the more clarity and the better

Megan Melville (08:02.829)

Exactly.

Megan Melville (08:12.459)

Yes!

Jesse Sampley (08:14.754)

the art, the better the project. Just because you have so many perspectives, which can be a challenge sometimes, just because you have a lot of, you know, who is making the final decision. But if there's a good relationship, then everyone kind of knows, okay, you know, we're all trying to, you know, get this done as efficiently as possible. We're all aligned with the same goal, but you know, we'll bring different perspectives to the table.

Megan Melville (08:16.194)

Right. Right.

Exactly.

Megan Melville (08:37.496)

Yes.

Yeah, exactly.

Jesse Sampley (08:42.222)

If you would take me back to the beginning of you starting the company, give me some background on that and then what kind of projects you're working on now or just how the company has developed over time.

Megan Melville (09:01.049)

Yeah. So I had a baby in 2019 and sold a business that I had had for about 10 years. And suddenly I was a stay at home mom with two kids. And it was one of those moments where I thought, you know, I am a better mom as a working mom, and that's okay. So I ended up going back to work with a designer who did work, mostly commercial work. She was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

not a great manager, and it was a really hard position. I was supposed to be a senior project manager and keeping things going and it was impossible to do my job. So I was only there for short time. But I learned a lot more of what not to do necessarily than what to do. That if you hire someone, you you let them do the job, you give them the tools and the training they need to do the job.

And so I stepped into another role with another company and a friend of mine and it was going really, really well until it just really wasn't. same thing, it was just, we weren't aligned in our.

Megan Melville (10:16.361)

goals of how a business should be run. And, you know, I kept saying, I've owned a business. I don't want to do that again. I want somebody else to be the boss. I just kind of want to show up and like do my job. And then I kind of want to go home and like call it a day. And then as I got further in, I thought, well, these are just, these are some not great decisions that are being made. And so then I kind of found myself again, like stepping away thinking like there should be, there should be a better way to.

do these projects and to communicate this information and do that as an honest business, as an honest business person with integrity and working well with builders and not making it all about the designer. I have no ego in this. I have a goal to make an awesome project for the client and for the builder. And that's my goal.

So I found an opportunity that I could work more closely with some builders that I had built a relationship with. And I also saw a lot of instances where, you know, younger designers were being brought into these positions and not really giving the opportunity to shine or to show their like real talents, their true strengths. Because within design, there are so many specialties and there are so many things that

We kind of have to be a jack of all trades. We need to understand flooring and cabinetry and countertops and lighting. And so we have to be involved with so many parts and pieces of the process. Certain people just naturally are drawn to certain parts of the project. So one designer might be like, my gosh, your cabinets are always amazing. We're going to let you focus on that and we're going to help you build that skill. And so I think even just having a

an opportunity to give a place for younger designers to come and grow and to learn and to say, oh, you know what, actually, I don't like the client facing stuff. I want to work kind of in the background. I'm happy to stay back here. I will do all of your 3D drawings. I'll do all of your plans and like let that designer have that opportunity to really shine in that role and give that designer all of the training and the teaching and the tools they need to do the job that they've been asked to do.

Megan Melville (12:39.991)

And so that's really why I wanted to create the hive. I also wanted to create a place where other senior designers like myself who have been doing this for a while could collaborate. We could help each other. We could have our own projects, but we could also say, hey, I've kind of got this commercial thing that could be an option, but I don't have commercial background. Do you think we could work together and make it a lot more collaborative with?

the idea of abundance being part of our just core, what we're built on. There's enough work for everyone. As soon as you start to get in that scarcity mindset, I think fear takes over and then you make some not great decisions. But if you have an abundant mindset, the work happens, it happens the way that it's to happen. And you're able to help and bless other people in that process and give other people an opportunity to work.

Jesse Sampley (13:25.422)

100 percent.

Megan Melville (13:38.709)

and to have a really good job and to hone a skill. And so that was really the goal behind the hive was a place for designers to come to collaborate, to have an opportunity to grow and even just say, Hey, I want to bring my own projects, but let's offer our clients the best pricing and we'll, we'll purchase under one company so we can all get the best pricing. But you know, this is a senior designer over here.

She's going to charge what she's going to charge. She has her clients. She has control over that. But then we can all collaborate and work together. And more importantly, we can offer and work together to kind of help create some of these systems that could potentially help builders. My business partner and I actually just, we took some flowers to some builders in the Valley and said, you know, we said, be my Valentine, because it's Valentine's Day.

Just kind of trying to market a little bit because we, love working with builders. They bring us a client and then we get to foster that relationship. Not only with the client and build something there, but also with that builder and be able to say, Hey, like we can make your job easier. Let us do that. And here are some systems on how we can make that happen. So that's really where the hive kind of started a place where designers can go. They can charge their fee. They can keep that fee. It doesn't need to be a.

you

head honcho situation where this person gets 70 % of all the fees and they're doing 20 % of all the work. That's never really jived with me. just a new look at design and how it can help the industry as a whole.

Jesse Sampley (15:22.242)

Man, that so amazing. And the person that wins is the customer. You know, it sounds like it's because they're getting such senior level people. They're getting real young creative minds, people that are able to really flourish with where they work really well within a space. then the ultimate like everybody, it sounds like a win-win-win for everybody. The builder is able to have the experienced people that come along and say, hey, if you don't have these

Megan Melville (15:29.367)

You

Megan Melville (15:40.791)

Yes.

Megan Melville (15:46.008)

Yes.

Jesse Sampley (15:52.375)

know, processes in place, like here we can go ahead and help facilitate that. And having all of these, these minds together, everybody wins. What an incredible foundation of the business. I love that.

Megan Melville (16:01.26)

Exactly.

Megan Melville (16:07.297)

Awesome, thank you. That's good to hear.

Jesse Sampley (16:09.71)

I haven't heard this very often, you know, but it's, I think it's because it's so easy to kind of think ego minded of like, okay, you know, who, you know, who is the head honcho, you know, who is taking the credit, you know, my pedigree that I'm building up towards versus thinking of it as, Hey, let's put the project at the top and let's put the people, the right people underneath of it, but let's not lose focus that it's not about us. Like it's all about the end.

Megan Melville (16:33.401)

Yeah.

Jesse Sampley (16:38.882)

the end product, which is the build and everybody, all those people underneath of it get supported. And, you know, it's just like making a movie, you know, it's you look at all of those lists. It's like there is no, you know, yes, there's a director and a producer and all these, you know, larger titles, but like it takes everybody to actually bring it all together. Yeah.

Megan Melville (16:39.947)

Exactly. Exactly.

Megan Melville (16:48.885)

Wait.

Megan Melville (16:55.789)

on it.

Yes, I love that. like that.

Jesse Sampley (17:02.572)

What, from your experience, what do you think separates kind of the good builder designer relationship from just a really great relationship? How do you think you can define that?

Megan Melville (17:13.763)

So.

I think the best relationship or some that I have in particular, it is a collaboration. And if we're doing a job site walk and looking at electrical, obviously I'm there from a design perspective. But then if me and the contractor and the electrician can go through and have a conversation and say, hey, this is the ultimate goal.

this is the effect we want in this space. And we can listen to the parameters that everyone has or concerns and be able to come to a solution. And it can be really open and respectful. People come to me for a reason. I have expertise for a reason. And I have training and experience in my role as a designer. I'm not going to go to an electrician and say, well, you need to wire this room this way. I don't.

No, I don't know and I don't need to know. I know what I want it to look like afterward. And so I respect his position and let him tell me, okay, let's actually maybe do this and this instead and we'll get the same effect. It's going to save money. It's going to keep it on the schedule. And typically the contractor is just like, yes, that's all I needed to hear. But I think if there is a mutual respect for what each one of us on the project does, that relationship just becomes that much stronger.

because we're going to each other for the expertise and the specialty that we each offer. And then it's always a better.

Jesse Sampley (18:54.03)

If you ever experienced any friction between you and the trades and the contractor and the trades kind of feeling like, you know, this is really out of my role. You know, I'm kind of working for the contractor here, whatever he tells me. You ever experienced any of that?

Megan Melville (19:07.949)

You know, I have a little bit, for the most part, I think we've been able to navigate everything pretty seamlessly. And honestly, it's usually just a matter of getting the right people in the same conversation to discuss it and make sure that things are coming from the right person, things are being communicated through the right channels. Because I know sometimes, you know, I especially, I don't want to step on anybody's toes. I don't want to cause friction between the

GC and his subs, you know, that's never my intent. I know it's happened. Unintentionally, it's happened. And just making sure that I have accountability in that. And I can step back and say, hey, you know what? I made a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. And next time, I'll make sure that I go through the right channels. I've had a few contractors that

I don't work with them anymore, but there have been a few where.

They've just kind of been dismissive of what I do as a profession. You know, it's like, okay, we'll come in here and pick your paint colors and fluff the pillows and, get out of my way so I can do my man job. And there have been a few times where I've had to say, you know what? I don't, I don't think this is the right fit. And I've, I've stepped away from projects and that's totally fine. And thankfully I've left it with the client and it's always been a positive from there, but.

Sometimes the best option is just to unfortunately step away. But I think being able to be.

Megan Melville (20:48.707)

you know, if there's a mistake made and if I've made a mistake, I know that I'm going to own that mistake. And I have, and it's never fun to be like, hey, I messed up, but I did this thing and we need to fix it and I'm going to help fix it. And always, always turns out better.

Jesse Sampley (21:06.99)

You know, I've heard this from a lot of different people because, know, what on a, especially a custom home building side is this relationship is so long. You know, this is sometimes, you know, a two, three year build. And over time, you know, those, it's almost like a family dynamic. It's like, you're going to have some issues that come up. You're going to have from frustration and, you know, just.

having it kind of laid out from the beginning to say like, hey, we're going to have issues. We're to have things that come up that we're going to have to work through. But laying that good ground level and saying, you here's a little bit of the of the rules, you know, of escalation rules. And this is how we're going to approach these doing that real early on. I have heard that they said it just makes all the difference to just like say this is going to happen.

Megan Melville (21:52.183)

Yeah.

Jesse Sampley (21:55.255)

And what we're going to do is we're going to come back into this room. We're going to sit at the same table and we're going to hash it out. And we're going to like solve these things as it comes up rather than painting a really kind of unrealistic perspective of just like, this is going to be perfect. And 36 months from now, like there's not going to be anything we need to work through. It's not real.

Megan Melville (22:07.097)

100.

Megan Melville (22:13.983)

Right? Right. It's just, it's impossible. It's not if. It's when something's going to happen. It's inevitable. Yeah.

Jesse Sampley (22:20.618)

Yes. What do you think on it for designers? And this is question is more for builders is like, when's a good time to bring the designer in? You know, as the builders working with the customer, when do think that's appropriate time just for to bring all these people in to work on a project?

Megan Melville (22:40.685)

Honestly, the sooner the better. I like getting my hands on a set of plans before anything's happened, just to walk through the plan with the client and say, okay, does this function the way you need it to function? Like, let's not, we're not even looking at finishes, we're looking at function. I love architects, I love working with architects. A lot of times they're designing from the outside in, not from the inside out. And so sometimes, you you can see.

You know, they've aligned these windows for these reasons and it looks like this on the exterior for this reason and it's lovely. But then the reality on the inside is, well, that doesn't really work. these windows are gorgeous on the outside, but it allows us no space for upper cabinetry in the kitchen. So things like that, that from the beginning, walking through a plan with the client and understanding how they use the space, do they have little kids? Do they cook a lot? Do they hardly ever cook? Like just.

In a kitchen alone, I've revamped entire layouts just based on how a particular client lives. A lot of people do a lot of hosting. They have a lot of family. They cook a family dinner every Sunday. You know, they need a really functional kitchen. And then some people are like, no, I hardly ever cook. I want marble everywhere. And I'm like, okay, great. Let's do that. Cause that works for you. But if we get to, you know, everything's framed and there's no opportunity to really make any of those adjustments.

You know, I could be a magician and come in and make it look amazing, but if it doesn't function, the client will be frustrated. And so I like to get in right at the beginning, looking at bathrooms, looking at cabinetry, kitchens, like how everything functions. That is first and foremost. And then we can start with the pretty stuff.

Jesse Sampley (24:27.032)

think that's such an important point is the functioning side and being able to maybe articulate for the client something that they don't know how to look at. know, because it's real easy to just look at the visuals and look at the inspo boards and all of that. But then to really think through, yeah, how do I, especially if this is your first home or even second home, you know, as time goes on, you you kind of know what you like and what you don't like. But maybe talk through a bit of the, you know, just how your

how you're collecting that info for people or how you're, know, what things are you looking at to be able to make these these really construction adjustments, like you were saying on a be at the cabinet side or be at the the width of a of a of an island or, you know, things like that, that you're you're making these suggestions, but based on the info that you're collecting from the client and kind of helping them cast their vision of, hey, imagine when you're in the space and you are doing

your daily task, you how does this feel and how high is this and how low is that? Let's chat about that a little bit because I think that's real intriguing.

Megan Melville (25:31.918)

Yes.

Megan Melville (25:37.247)

You know, it's interesting. I actually met with a younger couple and they're not necessarily looking for full design services, but they said, can you please just walk through the plans with us and make sure we're not missing anything? So we spent like a solid like three hours just going through their plans and me asking questions. Hey, this is a lot of space for a storage room. Do you need this much space? So we took some of it out. They had an entrance into a mudroom that was super tight. And the second I saw, I was like,

Mom ain't gonna like that when she's walking in the house from the garage with the kids and the groceries and everything else. And know, dad's walking in with all his sports equipment. It was way too tight. It aligned everything on the exterior because it's kind of a sort of a French feel like country house. had like full on wings. It was gorgeous. And even the plan itself was gorgeous. It was lovely. But once we kind of talked through the needs that they have of like their upstairs bedrooms.

Who's actually gonna be staying up there? Is this gonna be a guest bedroom? Is this gonna be like one of your kids' And kind of understanding how they needed to use the space. And sometimes it's as simple as, that's a really small vanity. Is that big enough? You don't have any drawer space in that vanity. That's gonna be all cabinet. Do we need to adjust that? Everybody wants drawers in a bathroom, but the reality is you can't always do that. So even just making sure plumbing,

is in a place where they can have the cabinetry that they want to have. So much function in a home happens within the cabinetry. And I can look at a plan and be like, well, this is going to be terrible. If you don't have anywhere to empty your dishwasher into a cabinet, there's no, there's nowhere to put your dishes. So just simple things like that, where the dishwasher is in relation to where you're going to put your dishes. Are your dishes going to be in drawers? Awesome. Let's put that in the island. That's perfect. But if you don't want dishes in your drawers,

Jesse Sampley (27:18.542)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (27:34.283)

It needs to be somewhere by an upper cabinet. So you have a place to put your dishes. It's just simple things like that. Like you said, this is this high, this is this low. And then looking at the appliances that they realistically want. Okay, you want a double oven. We need to find a place for that double oven to live and actually function. You know, in a living room, something like that, like, okay, you want this gorgeous fireplace. We can make that work. You've got enough room for furniture.

But when you get into those spaces that really, really need to work on a daily basis and the workhorse of a home is a kitchen. It just is. It always will be. That's where everyone hangs out. That's where everyone eats. That's where all the chores happen. So kitchens and bathrooms. And that's usually where I start. And once we kind of start kind of manipulating those spaces and making sure they function, sometimes it brings up other things. But I'm also big on like door swings. Okay, when you walk into a room,

Where does that door live? If that door wants to stay open, is it open in the middle of the room? That's super annoying. So door swings, things like that. Light switches, where light switches can go. You know, it's little things like that, that once you're living in your home, it's those little details that you're like, my gosh, I love this house. Like everything just feels good. And you walk in and it's all really intuitive. But if...

If some of those things are weird, you're always going to be like, why did we do this? This is like the dumbest place for a light switch. And it's such a simple thing.

Jesse Sampley (29:10.84)

thinking through some of these things in my house currently that I'm just like, yes, every single day. this is once you see it, then it's almost like it picks at you over time. And it's just like, gets a little worse and worse and worse. We're getting a new house built now and I'm super excited because we got to do a little bit of this is like, okay, now we've got enough of a flow to where we know that, okay, this is what the...

Megan Melville (29:20.309)

Yes. Right? I know.

awesome.

Megan Melville (29:34.296)

Yes.

Jesse Sampley (29:37.059)

This is where we end up as a family because we're a family of six. And like you said, it's the kitchen and our living room was a super important place is because that is where we're really using the majority of our house is in this really big open space. People are in the kitchen. People are in the living room. that's 80 percent of our time in the house. Yeah.

Megan Melville (29:45.273)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (29:54.678)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (29:58.325)

Yeah, that's awesome. And that's where it should be. And bedrooms, sometimes I'm like, it holds a bed. That's all it needs. It really just needs to have a bed and a little bed. And you're fine. And you want blackout drapes? Perfect. We'll add those later.

Jesse Sampley (30:13.294)

Well, let me ask. So we've got, we've actually got a sunroom. So we've got our living room and our kitchen as kind of one big space. And then there is a huge cased opening. I think it's 20 foot wide. And then there's a sunroom, a fully enclosed sunroom. And now we're trying to decide, okay, what do we do on a functionality side for our sunroom? Because you've got the living room, you've got the TV, you've got the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but then you've got this extra space. Is it more seating area?

You know, are you putting up games? Yeah, so we're not really sure exactly what we're how does that feel or how does that fit in with our with our living area? Right off the living room.

Megan Melville (30:45.551)

sure.

Megan Melville (30:54.551)

and it's just off your kitchen or it's off the living room.

Cool. And you're in Florida. Okay. Do you guys like a lot of plants? Like, is that something that you would add as like, almost? Yeah. So kind of a greenhouse. I would almost just make it a sitting area and a place to maybe have games. Overfall. Cool. That's gonna be gorgeous. And you know what?

Jesse Sampley (31:07.702)

love plants love plants

Jesse Sampley (31:16.75)

That's where the sun rises right up in that corner. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we're thinking.

Megan Melville (31:25.229)

Sometimes it's just a matter of living with it for a little while to see like, okay, this actually is just, we like to eat breakfast in here. Maybe the breakfast nook becomes something different. Unfortunately, until you live in the home, some spaces like that.

I call them bonus bases. You may not always know how they're gonna function until you're there and you see how it is when you're actually there, when the sun's rising or when the sun's setting, things like that.

Jesse Sampley (31:51.427)

love that. It probably will be the space is be in it and let let the idea kind of come to you. You'll probably be gravitated naturally at either some part of the day or like, hey, I just want to relax, read a book, you know, be surrounded by some plants or maybe a swing inside there. It's a it's one of those bonus spaces that I know as us as a family, we're real excited to be like, what is going to happen with this space?

Megan Melville (31:56.716)

Yeah, yeah.

Megan Melville (32:04.984)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (32:15.237)

That's cool, Lillian, just to have some greenery. mean, there are studies done that greenery and, and now I can think of it, it's bio-something design, but having plants in your house, like, it's real. It will affect your mood, it affects your health, so that's a good approach.

Jesse Sampley (32:38.028)

We just need someone to take accountability for who's going to water these plants.

Megan Melville (32:42.418)

That is me. Yep. It would not be me.

Jesse Sampley (32:46.254)

It definitely cannot be me because I will forget. I definitely need like a lot of snake plants or something like, okay, I can maybe once a month I can, I can do that. Well, what about, what about inspiration? You know, how do you translate some of these things from client says, okay, you know, we, asked chat GPT to come up with some really great images or, know, we've pulled this from, from online, but you know, most of the stuff that's out there is the best of the best.

Megan Melville (32:53.049)

There we go. Yup. Yup, exactly. like that.

Jesse Sampley (33:15.99)

You know, it's $50 a square foot tile. is, you know, it's just the multimillion dollar, you know, finishes. So how are you how are you helping translate these things into, OK, I get your vibe, but this is your budget and you know, this is how we can do that. Bridge that gap.

Megan Melville (33:34.113)

Right, exactly. Yeah, and it is a big one. Unfortunately, I think Pinterest and Instagram have set a lot of expectations, but it hasn't necessarily set a lot of realistic expectations. And so I feel like that's sometimes a battle that I'm constantly fighting and even telling certain clients, you need to stay off the internet. You need to stay off Instagram.

You are always gonna find something that you wanna try, but you can't put every idea in a house. Let's narrow it down to your top three. What are your most important spaces? And really kind of focus on that part of it. I think the fun part is when I have a couple who both kind of have distinct styles. And a lot of times the woman, the wife that's in the project, she's usually the decision maker.

That's not always the case, but I always try to make sure like, okay, you guys are both living in this bedroom. We're not just going to paint the whole thing pink and then just call it a day. But really trying to make sure that I'm talking both of them through like, okay, what is your ideal space? What does that look like? What really speaks to you and what are your priorities for comfort in your bedroom? Things like that. And I think at least being able to use

Jesse Sampley (34:38.391)

you

Megan Melville (34:59.363)

Like lighting is a huge one and it doesn't need to be expensive. You can make a regular space look super expensive just by using some good lighting. And that's another one of those things like get in at the beginning so that you can make sure that you have some controls over how that lighting looks and how it works and is it dimmable and things like that. So lighting is a big one that I try to focus on that can be inexpensive and then pick a few spots that are

Jesse Sampley (35:07.63)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (35:26.083)

Like this great room fireplace, this is our focal point. We want to spend the money here and kind of use one feature that they're really in love with and then go from there. Like if they really like the look of natural stone and natural wood and it's a little more organic. Some people really like super clean lines, not a lot of contrast in their colors. And every client is so different. I think that's what's so fun.

about what I get to do is I kind of get to take their ideas and start to put things together and pull things together with the finishes so that it A, meets their aesthetic, what they're going for, but that it also works with the budget and then it works with the timeline and the house itself. A lot of times people, they'll want this massive stone fireplace and it's like, well, I don't know if we've got the structure for that. Like we should have talked about that six months ago.

Jesse Sampley (36:19.277)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (36:21.785)

So things like that are important again, just in the beginning. But just really trying to, and I think that's what makes a good designer, because a lot of people will say, well, would you do this? And I'll say, well, no, but that's, it's not my house. It's your house. It's not my style. It's your style. And like certain designers kind of get this look and that's why people go to them. And I think that's awesome. But really it should be, it's about the client.

Jesse Sampley (36:22.146)

Yeah.

Jesse Sampley (36:51.565)

Yeah-hmm.

Megan Melville (36:52.407)

I would put every color under the sun in my house and be perfectly happy. I'm not gonna suggest that to a client. I see so many things that I'm just like, I'm obsessed. I'm gonna have a green bathroom. I'm gonna have a pink bathroom. I'm gonna have a blue bathroom and it'll just be a carnival house. But clients for the most part, they either kind of lean really more neutral. Some like to have a little bit more color. So just really trying to hone in on that style and making sure they don't get too.

too distracted by all the awesome stuff we see online.

Jesse Sampley (37:25.762)

I think that it sounds like you hold people accountable, you know, over time as you know, they kind of, sway off a little bit and, I saw this and over time it's like, Hey, let's bring you back into the priorities so that we can, you know, focus on what's really important and not just kind of these random things as you, you know, continue to, you know, see on Instagram or as time goes on. Do you think, do you think there's any design trends on Instagram right now that

Megan Melville (37:29.603)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (37:35.83)

Yes.

Megan Melville (37:46.545)

Exactly. Exactly. I know. It can be tricky.

Jesse Sampley (37:54.476)

You know, they look great, but they just are way too challenging on a construction side.

Megan Melville (38:01.488)

You know, it's interesting because I see different things and I think, oh, that's gorgeous. How do people live in a space like that? Sometimes that's a thought. But really when you break it down,

Kitchens can be so similar, even just in the tones. So I think if you can break it down and see what pieces a person likes, whether it's gonna be in style in six years or not, I'm a little less concerned with what's trending. And to be honest, I sometimes kind of try to steer people away from like really heavy duty trends. I think here, I can see the black and white is maybe going out a little bit. I think it's still kind of popular.

but I can see things warming up a lot, especially on exteriors, which I really like. Because that harsh contrast, that's not for everybody. And to be honest, it's not for every home. I think you have to have the right scale of home to handle that kind of contrast.

Jesse Sampley (38:49.774)

Yeah-hmm.

Megan Melville (39:04.289)

So trends, think, I don't know, that's kind of a tricky one. Because I also love like mid-century just speaks to my soul. I just, I love mid-century, all of it. Like the cool windows and the furniture. But then there's also stuff like art deco and art nouveau. Like there's things from different design eras that you can pull from. And I guess I kind of steer people a little more towards.

being a little bit more transitional or eclectic that they can kind of mix some of their styles. And if you have a nice home with really good bones and it's kind of neutral, you can switch up the furnishings all you want. And that's where you can bring in some of your trendy pieces like a trendy sofa or a trendy rug, something like that that, you know, in four years when you're sick of it and you don't like it anymore, you could replace it without having to replace like

Jesse Sampley (39:51.438)

Hmm.

Megan Melville (39:59.935)

mosaic backsplash or something that's going to be little more tricky to redo in a few years. So yeah.

Jesse Sampley (40:08.782)

think that's so good like yeah let let the start with functionality first let that build in because that will never change your your functionality is never gonna change but then a style side yeah let those pieces you know rotate you know three to five years however your however your life works you know whatever that rebirth cycle is you know

Megan Melville (40:13.849)

Okay.

Never.

Megan Melville (40:22.741)

Exactly. Yep, exactly. Yes. And if you've got little kids, like throw some Ikea furniture in there and call it good for five years. And then you can get the nicer pieces. Like it's just the reality. Kids will destroy anything. Right? you know.

Jesse Sampley (40:40.974)

gosh tell me about it yes I've got four kids and it's it's it's anything from the 32 inches below is not safe

Megan Melville (40:50.809)

Yep. And that's okay.

Jesse Sampley (40:53.248)

And now they're starting to really utilize the bar stools way too efficiently. It's like you guys are out of control. I love it though. Well, who do you look for for inspiration? What feeds your soul and feeds the idea bucket so that you're able to give back to the client and say, here's some different either new materials or

Megan Melville (41:02.521)

I love it.

Jesse Sampley (41:22.382)

new things that you're able to suggest based on your space. This also could be, you know, books and podcasts, things that just, you know, doesn't have to be always in the design side, things that just kind of keep you motivated throughout the day and throughout the week.

Megan Melville (41:25.398)

Right.

Megan Melville (41:41.689)

I think.

good question. I don't know that I've thought about that in so while. I do really enjoy

Megan Melville (41:53.581)

talking to my different vendors on new products and new.

things that they see coming out, even exterior products. The last couple of years, I've found myself making a lot more exterior finishes than I've, than I'm used to. So I've kind of had to force myself to get out of my comfort zone and really get into, you know, different siding and stucco and stone and veneer and brick veneer and thin brick and all of those things that, you know, I was in the realm of, but making sure that

I'm keeping up on some of those materials and then how those materials could potentially be used inside the home as well. So I do rely a lot on my vendors and different tradesmen and people in the Valley that I can go and visit and say, hey, I'm kind of looking for this. What would you suggest? I've heard this about this material. So I do like to do a lot of research on just materials and new materials themselves. I have a client right now who is really, really focused on

the air quality of their home. And so I've been researching a lot on just different materials to make their home as healthy as possible. And then that kind of takes you down different areas of, know, there's a whole line of metal cabinetry that I didn't know existed out there specifically for people who, yeah, they don't want to have the wood, they don't want to have the off gassing. So I do really find myself researching a lot and kind of

Jesse Sampley (43:01.847)

Hmm.

Jesse Sampley (43:18.498)

Wow.

Megan Melville (43:28.555)

looking into new cool products that I could use in a space. So think that's a lot of fun. Because then I can share it with clients and say, hey, what do you think of this? And honestly, a lot of times my clients will send me stuff and I'm like, I've never seen this designer and, you know, I'll start kind of looking into them. I also just spend a lot of time just around in nature and appreciating where I live. I live in a beautiful city.

and just kind of being away from technology. Just to kind of regroup a little bit and realize that not everything needs to be.

perfect and beautiful and that, you know, we work in such a visual industry where, you know, even Instagram boards are just, and I'm not a social media person. Like I have to have someone do that for me because it's just not me. But like you see these like curated boards and they just look amazing. And sometimes it's just like the perfection is kind of overwhelming and to sort of weigh and realize that.

Jesse Sampley (44:28.942)

you

Megan Melville (44:39.533)

Like I want to do a photo shoot of a house that someone actually lives in so that we can see like the sippy cup and the sink and you know, cause people live in their homes and I think sometimes, especially from the design side, the perfection of it can just, it can bog you down because that's not the reality of it. And so I think kind of separating myself from some of that is helpful. Cause then the reality is much more happy when, that's what you get.

than trying to focus on the perfection of it.

Jesse Sampley (45:11.854)

I loved it, lived in design. Maybe this is a new marketing campaign to release. For me, it would be a lot of these, the baby bottles are always get eaten by our dogs. I don't know what it is, but they're always just like cracking it just a little bit. So those, I would have to just put those little Easter eggs in the photos.

Megan Melville (45:15.011)

Right? Yes.

Megan Melville (45:25.137)

my god.

Megan Melville (45:32.313)

Right? Yeah, exactly. And yeah, people are pets, like just dog toys and dog hair and just the realities that we all have every day. It's never perfect.

Jesse Sampley (45:36.128)

Any? Yeah.

Jesse Sampley (45:41.999)

I love that. I love that. It's such a good mindset to say like, you also want to appreciate your space that you're in. So be realistic with your expectation with, what is this place? What's it really going to look like once it's lived in? Yeah. Instead of, like you said, the very overwhelmingly perfect picturesque

Megan Melville (46:04.609)

lived in.

Jesse Sampley (46:11.4)

styles of, you know, it's spotless and there's no one in it. Yes. Are there any other companies that you admire or people that are out there that maybe not as much on an inspiration side, but just different people around that you admire the work that they're doing?

Megan Melville (46:14.081)

Right? Magazine ready every day.

Megan Melville (46:30.285)

You know, yeah, I went to school with a gal. She owns a company here called Edit Design House. The principal's name is Stacey Graves. I happen to follow her on Instagram. She's one of the few that I do. So every once in while I'll get on to check a message or something and I'll see something that she's posted. I just admire that she's created this whole, same thing, she has designers that work for her.

It's obviously a really cool place to be. And the designs she creates are, they're lovely. Like they're lovely, but they're realistic. So I really respect her as a designer. She's done a lot for herself and I think it's awesome. I also really love Leslie Schofield. And I started kind of following her because a friend of mine works for her.

And she's got some amazing projects that she's done, not just in Utah, but all over. So she's one that I also, I really respect and I'd like to see what she's doing.

Jesse Sampley (47:39.2)

So, Megan, this has been great. Anything you want to add? Anything we didn't touch on?

Megan Melville (47:45.209)

That's a good question. think I love this industry. I think it can do better, especially from the design side. And so I think focusing on the abundance and trying to be more collaborative and a little less gatekeepy with trades and with, I don't know, vendors and things like that. That's sometimes how the culture gets.

on the interior design side and it, just feel like we could all do and be so much better and collaborate more and share more and understand that there's so much work out there and there's so much work for all of us and to have the abundant mindset and go forward with that and really create an awesome industry that people can thrive in. Utah's in kind of a weird.

stage right now where we still have a lot of new builds but it's kind of slowed down and a lot of people are in homes and they don't want to sell them because they have such good rates and so they're kind of like well now I'm in this home what do I do so we're seeing a lot more remodels which I love just because it kind of creates a new and different challenge than a new build because a new build you're just kind of like okay yes here are our budget constraints and our time constraints but you know overall you have

Jesse Sampley (48:51.426)

Yeah-hmm.

Megan Melville (49:11.737)

So with the remodel, you can do a lot in a home. I think, you know, if homeowners are listening, if you're in your home right now and you don't love it, contact a designer or an architect and see what might be possible. And I do feel that people should really love the space that they live in. And design doesn't need to be, it can be accessible.

Jesse Sampley (49:13.324)

Yeah.

Megan Melville (49:41.593)

Obviously budgets are realistic and design is a luxury service, if you need some help, reach out and get the information, reach out to a builder, and really make your home the space that you want it to be.

Jesse Sampley (49:56.663)

and choose to work someone that can really bring, probably pull out that info from you, to say, let's really develop what is important rather than just everything being visual. But kind of going back to the functionality side is, this has to be, it's got to work together. The functionality side, the design side, just the piece, even, I feel like we've moved our furniture around.

Megan Melville (50:17.059)

exactly.

Jesse Sampley (50:23.746)

thousand times and you know there's always just it opens up this there's a certain energy you know when things are new and things are reorientated towards like okay it's just I don't know I don't know how to how to describe it really but you know it it's it almost has to be done it clears the air and yeah

Megan Melville (50:24.729)

for height.

Megan Melville (50:41.241)

Yeah, yeah. Like when you were a kid and you moved your bedroom around and you're just like, oh yeah, this is gonna be the day of the year.

Jesse Sampley (50:46.67)

Exactly, that's my daughter. She'll she'll move her bed like once a month and it's just like okay This is perfect. And then yeah the next 30 days later. It's like now this is perfect I'm like, please just lift up the bed though. Do not scoot it on this LVP because you are going to I like just call me for help Omega

Megan Melville (50:52.003)

There she is.

Megan Melville (50:57.219)

You have a budding designer on your hands. She's going to go fire.

Yes.

put it on castles for her and then she can just, know, reel it around.

Jesse Sampley (51:13.602)

There we go. There we go. I love it. Just don't jump on your bed because then you know probably scoot up against the wall. Locking catch. There we go. That was the detail we needed. Megan this has been wonderful. Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to following along and get that person to post more on Instagram and on Facebook because that is how people you know learn more about what you do and

Megan Melville (51:21.641)

locking casters. Let's put locking casters on it.

Megan Melville (51:41.997)

Yes.

Jesse Sampley (51:42.382)

That's just the that's the world we live in. So it is it has to be a priority if you're wanting to engage and get your story out there to show. And we're seeing this, too, on a lot of people's sides is that these are also good virtual referrals to people that you don't know and people that you've never worked with, but will refer work to you just based on just based on what you put out there. And I think that's people really appreciate that to just

Megan Melville (51:44.473)

Yes.

Megan Melville (51:51.065)

Absolutely,

Megan Melville (52:07.673)

sure.

Jesse Sampley (52:11.715)

hey, let's be real, let's be authentic, let's put stuff out there that it's of value and then kind of compete with some of the more inauthentic stuff that's out there. So you have to have real people that are doing their due diligence. Yeah. Well, Megan, I'm going to stop recording and then.

Megan Melville (52:25.143)

Alright, this

Right, I like that.

Megan Melville (52:33.849)

Okay.

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Why Builders Should Bring Designers In Early

Residential Design Doesn't Have to Be the “Wild West”

Design Decisions Can Affect the Builder's Schedule

Why the Builder Needs a Seat at the Design Table

The Best Builder-Designer Relationships Are Collaborative

Function Before Finishes

A Beautiful Home Still Has to Work

Managing Pinterest, Instagram, and Unrealistic Expectations

Build for Function, Then Add the Trends

Designing for Real Life

Design Hive ID's Collaborative Approach

Put the Project First

Final Thoughts

Key Takeaways

Listen to the Full Episode

How can an interior designer improve a building project?

Why should builders work with a designer early?

How can builders and designers work better together?

Why is communication important during a design project?

How does Design Hive ID approach client projects?

What is the biggest benefit of hiring a professional designer?

Full Podcast Transcript

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